


Fading Lilac

by yuzurusjorts



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Aged up characters, Alternate Universe, Blood, Gen, M/M, animal hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 06:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20187463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuzurusjorts/pseuds/yuzurusjorts
Summary: It was not Tsukasa’s fault he had missed, he wasn’t expecting the animal to be so big, almost as tall as Tsukasa himself even when standing on all fours. So, if his hand shook a bit when he pulled the trigger, it was completely understandable.





	Fading Lilac

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING FOR BLOOD, GUNS, ANIMAL HUNTING, DESCRIPTION OF WOUNDS.** If any of those make you uncomfortable, please don’t read.
> 
> **IMPORTANT:** I was going to post this on my other collection, _ToriKasa stories_, but I really didn’t want to change its rating, so I decided to just make this into a new fic. Please do let me know what you think of it, I’m not very good at writing serious scenes so I experimented a lot with this fic. And, give my ToriKasa collection a chance if you’re interested, it would make my day as a writter. <3 :)

The scent of blood was thick and heavy in the air.

Even holding the lamp in front of him, Tsukasa can barely see through the forest’s deep darkness. At night the trees always seemed to grow taller, the bushes seemed to become denser, and the gravel and grass on the ground hardly made any sound when stepped on, which in Tsukasa’s mind registers as not completely impossible considering the wariness with which he walks. And with the way his boots touch the ground as if he weighted nothing, his steps might as well not exist at all. 

Or so he would think, if he was an amateur. But after years of hunting experience, Tsukasa knows better than to let himself become overconfident, careless. The creatures of the forest are merciless, and most importantly their instincts are exceptionally sharp, to the point Tsukasa might risk saying they are, somehow, evolving and adapting together with the human world. No, in a situation like this he can hardly afford to make any mistakes, lest he put his life in danger. It has happened before— he’s far from being any kind of specialist, there are still hundreds of methods and lessons he has to learn, practice, research better, and as vexing as it is to admit such fact, he has to recognize it as the truth— but in this specific case, this mission, his pride and body are not the only things that may get permanently scarred if he steps on the wrong rock, or breathes too loudly. The stakes are high, the whole city is counting on him, and that fact makes itself very clear whenever Tsukasa blinks and the images of desperate families whose farm animals have been slaughtered appear behind his eyelids, carved into his memory from the moment they came to him for help until now.

It started small, once a month a couple people would relate their animals disappeared overnight, _’Something killed our sheep!’_ they would say, with alarmed faces. Understandably, after much thinking from the citizens, the idea that it could be a wolf was considered much more than any others, and some men decided they’d keep guard during the night, keeping an eye out to try and find out whatever it was that kept threatening their source of not only food but also income. After three weeks with no activity, they decided to drop it, satisfied to revel in the delusion that they were finally safe.

That, too, was crushed not too long later. In one single night more than half of one of the biggest farm’s cattle had been killed brutally, and little more than their carcass had been left behind, bones and guts abandoned in a grotesque and fairly confusing scene. What kind of animal would do something like this? Eat the meat to the bone, but leave everything the preys’ bodies held on the inside? The people were starting to get freaked out, and not even the city’s usual hunters had been able to track down the creature responsible for all the turmoil. The worst part was that whatever animal it was, it left no trail. No footprints, no claw marks, no fur. Without clues, not even the best detective in the world could solve this mystery.

Or maybe they just had been searching in the wrong places this whole time. Having found nothing by themselves and coming near to exhausting all their ideas, they went to the only people they thought could help: the Suou household. Famous around the city as a family involved in military business; little did they know the heir and single son of the family took interest in a more than unusual kind of hunting. Tsukasa had not told anyone, fearing his parents might misunderstand his hobby for an unwillingness to take over the family’s business once his time comes, and it’s not like his parents were the most observant people. If anything, coming from a place where he’s learned how to fire a gun at ten years old might have made it all the simpler. Being fascinated by the occult came to him naturally after finding an old book on the subject, well forgotten in the very last bookshelf of his house’s library, and even if it all seemed too exaggerated at first his younger self couldn’t help but want to seek confirmation for what he had seen in the worn yellow pages of that heavy book.

Years had passed since then, he’s very much a man now. And everything led to this moment; all his weekly aim practices, all nights spent awake reading under a lamp in his room, the hours spent convincing his parents that he could, and wanted to be the one to do this. Tsukasa straightens his back, watches as the fire crackles inside his lamp, the memories of the day he started investigating a week ago come back to him. In practice it was harder than it seemed, but searching for clues becomes relatively easier if you know what you were looking for; it didn’t take more than a couple days for Tsukasa to figure out that, no, the attacks hadn’t been at random. Maybe not planned, as if whatever had done it wasn’t looking for anything specific as much as it was hungry and craved food, but it was definitely only one individual who was responsible for all the attacks. The other clue came in the shape of one single tuft of fur, out of place and sticking out like a sore thumb stuck to a broken wood fence, in a deep blue color. As soon as Tsukasa saw it, he already knew what the city had been dealing with, and the beating of his heart was loud in his ears from excitement.

The metallic scent of blood is still strong as he speeds up his walk, a good signal, because if his first bullet didn’t hit any vital points, then he has to make double sure the next one does. He might not be the most well-versed, but he’s tried out some things, went hunting for a few different kinds of creatures under the veil of night before. Not completely successful experiences, what with being all by himself with little more than a gun in his hands and his extensive in-theory knowledge, but he prides himself in being able to say he’s improving with each day that passes. It’s a very basic tracking technique he learned from his father, but looking at the crushed leaves on the ground and the tree branches broken in odd angles, Tsukasa’s sharp eyes are able to determine what course the animal might have taken in it’s attempt to run away and hide. 

One of the tree’s bark is covered with blood, undoubtedly of the inhuman kind as it is a deep shade of dark red, nearly black. Tsukasa rushes, jumping over a few protuberant roots, his mind occupied by thoughts of _’I’m getting closer.’_. The bullet may not have hit the monster’s head as intended— it was not Tsukasa’s fault, he wasn’t expecting it to be so big, almost as tall as Tsukasa himself even when standing on all fours, so if his hand shook a bit when he pulled the trigger it was completely understandable— but it did hit its neck, or at least an area close to it, and not even that creature, monstrous as it may be, would be capable of walking a long distance while such a big quantity of blood pours out from the wound. Not the kind of damage a normal bullet would be able to do, mind you, the animal’s skin is certainty thick and well evolved to not get pierced so easily by simple copper or steel, but bullets made from a mixture of pure lead and other unusual materials tend to be way harder, and deadlier, if casted correctly, Tsukasa has learned.

An animalistic whimper reaches Tsukasa’s ears, and that much is enough to clear his mind from all unrelated thoughts. He places the lamp on a trunk, in a position where it is still capable of doing its job without being held, and moves to hold his rifle with both hands. The beast is near, he can fell it, the odor even stronger now. He just needs to find it, and—

“Stop!”

Comes a loud cry from behind Tsukasa, desperate and pleading. He immediately stops, more because of the shock than anything else, and tuns slowly. Had he been followed? Not impossible, he might have missed on someone trying to catch up to him while fully immersed in the hunt, but the person’s heavy breathing suggests they had been running as fast as they could for some time now. Maybe they had been trying to reach Tsukasa, but were very behind until now that he started moving slower.

“Did you hear me?! Stop—“ A gasp for air. “Now!”

As soon as the person comes closer under the lamp’s light, Tsukasa’s frown deepens. The situation is not one he would ever expect, not in a thousand years; Tori Himemiya, an young man from a neighboring city, Tsukasa’s childhood friend, and also the person he’s been courting for the past couple months. He looks completely disheveled, his dress shirt and pants are beyond dirty, and the pant’s left leg is rolled up to expose his white sock, which is covered in a red liquid that Tsukasa can only assume is blood.

“Tori? What are you doing here?” Tsukasa stands to his full height, narrowed eyes scanning the area around for any sign of danger. His grip on his rifle is still firm, and his ears focus to try and see if the beast is emitting any noises again. Nothing, the place is suddenly quiet. Too quiet, Tsukasa notes, but he decides to deal with the problem at hand before he can go back to the hunt. It’s not like his prey can run forever, after all, and it’s impossible to ignore the bleeding slash near Tori’s ankle, no matter how hard he tries to. “You’re hurt.”

“I—“ Tori starts, but stops midway. He looks down at his ankle, a bit of the blood running down and reaching his shoe, it’s messy. He takes a deep breath, and then starts again. “I know. That’s not the point.” And when he says that, there is an unusual fire in his green eyes, his face speaks nothing but raw determination, if only a tiny hint of fear. Tsukasa quirks an eyebrow at that. “You seriously have to go back, I will take it from here.”

And Tsukasa almost wants to laugh, he would have done if the moment wasn’t a tense one. It’s completely absurd, he knows Tori has his strengths, but to expect such a small and harmless man to fight a beast all by himself? Just the act of acknowledging the idea makes Tsukasa’s insides burn. There is no way he’d allow for something like that to happen.

“That’s ridiculous, no.” He says, simply, because it really is. Tsukasa is unable to think of any shadow of reason as to why Tori would want to do this, with a bleeding ankle and nothing to defend himself with, no less. He looks completely out of his element. “You’re the one who should go back. Don’t worry, I will end this once and for all. The city will be safe after tonight.”

“You _don’t understand_.” Tori hisses, voice aggravated as he rushes to grab Tsukasa’s forearm. “Tsukasa, this is too dangerous for you. Stop being an idiot and listen to me.”

“I fail to see how it would be more dangerous for me than it is for you. No offense, but you don’t look all that prepared to deal with the situation, if your wound is any indicator.” Tsukasa doesn’t mean to be harsh, he truly does care about Tori but this is not even remotely an appropriate moment for bickering, and if Tori keeps bleeding and does nothing about it he might pass out from blood loss, which would only become another trouble for the both of them. “Allow me to finish what I started; I’ve already shot the creature once, and I can do it again.”

At those words, all the blood drains from Tori’s face. The grip he has on Tsukasa’s forearm weakens and he hesitates for a second before letting go and pushing past in a rush. Tsukasa makes a noise of indignation, but it goes completely ignored as Tori walks deeper into the woods, a slight limp in his step.

“Tori—? Wait! You can’t go alone!” Tsukasa rushes to get the lamp back, and catches up easily. “Why are you being so difficult?!”

“I already told you, you don’t understand.” 

“Well then, please _explain_.” Tori finally stops when Tsukasa grabs his shoulder. “You haven’t answered my question. What are you even doing here? It’s late, we are in the middle of the forest, and you’re not supposed to come visit the city again until next month.”

Tori takes a deep breath, and when he turns expression on his face is one Tsukasa has never seen before, he’s frowning again and the light coming from the lamp reflects in his eyes. But Tsukasa refuses to look away, determined to find out whatever is going on at any cost.

“You really won’t give up, will you?” Tori says, his lips changing into a pout that fits him way better than a scowl.

“No. As I’ve said, you’re hurt, and whatever is your objective here... I won’t let you do it alone.”

The colors return to Tori’s face, and he humphs, turning away from Tsukasa and continuing to walk in front of him. Tsukasa only sighs, already resigned to the fact that tonight’s hunt is probably over. He throws his rifle’s strap around his shoulders and pushes the gun to his back, in a position where he can freely walk without holding it, but it is still ready to be pulled out if need be.

They walk in silence for a few minutes until Tori winces, hissing and leaning against a tree. Tsukasa automatically rushes to his side and kneels beside him.

“Tori!”

“It’s nothing. Let’s keep going.”

“You’re going to end up seriously hurt. Quit acting strong and at least let me attend to your wound.”

“We don’t have the time for this!”

“It will be even worse if you keep bleeding and pass out!” Tsukasa says, serious, and Tori pouts again, but crosses his arms with a ‘hmph’. 

“...Just rush.”

And Tsukasa doesn’t need to be told twice, moving to take his rifle’s strap and jacket off, then unbuttoning his dress shirt’s sleeve. He checks Tori’s face before touching the man’s ankle, pulling the ruined sock down enough to expose the slash there. Tori hisses in pain again, and Tsukasa rips the unbuttoned sleeve’s whole forearm off to use as a makeshift bandage, a very crude attempt at properly covering the wound in hopes of stopping the bleeding. 

“Does it feel too tight?” Tsukasa asks, worriedly. He’s never been the best at first aiding, even when it comes to the most basic techniques, but for now it will have to do.

“It’s fine. It’s not bleeding as much anymore, so.” True to his words, Tori gets up with not as much difficulty as before. “I guess I have to thank you for this.”

“You’re welcome.” Tsukasa smiles, relieved to see Tori back to his usual self, if only a bit too serious. He grabs his things, wearing the jacket and strap again before following Tori again, this time feeling somewhat lighter despite the man’s still present limp.

As they walk deeper into the forest, Tsukasa realizes they haven’t seen any animals in some time now. Truly, most of them would be wary of the presence of humans and would try to avoid the lamp’s light, but to see no signs of life except for the trees around them is beyond suspicious. Not to mention how weird it is that Tori can move with such confidence in a place like this, though he’s definitely not lost, judging by the way he makes way through trees and bushes, and Tsukasa has to ask himself if Tori has been hiding something from him all this time. There’s no way he doesn’t know where he’s going, and Tsukasa finds himself feeling bothered by that realization. _What even is going on in Tori’s mind right now?_

It’s only after a long while that Tori slows down, carefully pushing a branch in front of him. He looks back at Tsukasa with a serious expression.

“Tsukasa. You have to promise you’re not going to shoot, no matter what.”

“What do you—?” And it’s then that he hears it, the whimpering again. Very, very quiet this time, accompanied by breathing sounds. Tsukasa freezes, all his instincts telling him to pull out his rifle, the beast is near, he has to end it once and for all. Subconsciously, he moves to grab the strap on his shoulder, but Tori moves faster, holding Tsukasa’s wrist.

“I said you have to promise! You’re the one who wanted to come with me so badly, the least you can do is do what I tell you to!”

“It’s dangerous, Tori! That monster is here somewhere, it could kill us if we don’t retaliate!” Tsukasa tries to free his wrist, but Tori’s grip is firm.

“He’s dying because you shot him, idiot! He won’t hurt us!”

“Since when is it a _‘he’_?!”

As soon as the question comes out of Tsukasa’s mouth, a loud growl fills the air. Tori starts moving again, faster this time, and still holding Tsukasa’s wrist so he has no choice but to be pulled along, and once they walk past the thick bushes, there it is. Lying on its side, next to a tree, is the huge beast Tsukasa has promised to kill. Its dark blue fur is mostly covered in blood, and its chest goes up and down slowly, doing obviously labored breathing sounds. He looks at Tori, a silent plea for the man to let him go, but what meets him is a pained expression, Tori really looks like he’s about to start crying at any moment. Tsukasa frowns, he expected him to be scared, not... whatever this is. 

“Tori? If you’re scared, you can—“

“I’m not! Tsukasa, I told you, you don’t understand, and now he’s going to die and there’s nothing I can do about it!” As Tori finally lets Tsukasa go, he rushes to drop on his knees in front of the animal, fat tears rolling down his face now as he throws his arms at the creature’s fur in a hug that leaves his shirt stained with dark red. “Yuzuru, please don’t leave me!”

“What is the meaning of this...? That’s...”

And then it all hits Tsukasa at once. Something inside his brain snaps, and a crazy theory begins to unfold. It all fits well, way too well, with Tori’s precisely timed monthly visits to the city— of course bringing Yuzuru, his personal butler, with him each time—, Yuzuru’s weirdly energetic behavior recently, the meticulous and clean way of killing the animals and escaping the crime scene... It could never be done by a simple wild animal, sure Tsukasa had some idea that it was definitely not a normal wolf, but he never expected that this whole time it had been...

“...A lycan.” Tsukasa whispers, narrowing his eyes. He moves as to grab his rifle, but hesitates. Knowing it’s not some kind of cursed animal makes it so much harder, he cannot bring himself to ignore the fact that this monster— this _man_ has been part of his life since he was a child. Not directly, Yuzuru had always been the Himemiya’s property and refused to leave that position, but they saw each other basically every day before Tori had to move out into the neighboring city, and even then they met every time Tori visited. It’s a complicated situation, to say he has no attachment for the lycan would be a crude lie, but... Should he break the promise he’s done to all the people? That he would bring the monster’s head back home as proof of their safety? The realization was all too much, making conflicting feelings dance inside of him.

Tori’s loud cries are what bring him back from his internal monologue, and he realizes that he’s standing in front of the scene now, having subconsciously walked there while deep in thought. He squats down and Tori pays no mind to him, too preoccupied with grabbing at the wolf’s fur. As soon as he lifts his hand, the creature’s eyes shot open, and it shocks Tsukasa into freezing. The deep lilac in them is filled with so much emotion, like no common animal could ever replicate, they shine in the moonlight; a mixture of feelings floating there. Sadness, regret, resentment, _pain_. Tsukasa suddenly feels very, very guilty.

“He never wanted this, y’know.” Tori whispers between sniffles, his face covered in tears and snot, he’s always been an ugly crier. He doesn’t look at Tsukasa as he keeps talking. “He can’t help it, he was born like this. It’s an hereditary trait in the Fushimi family, apart from the transformation it also makes them stronger than normal humans, which is part of the reason why they’re always given jobs in the military or as bodyguards...” He takes a deep breath, willing the tears to stop running. “They have a strong sense of loyalty, too. Doesn’t that just sound perfect for my family? My parents adopted him when he was still a baby, we grew up together.”

“Tori...” Tsukasa tries, he wants to say something, anything. He knew Tori and Yuzuru had been together since forever, but this is a side of the story he’s never known of.

“No, let me finish. The least I can do is give him a proper speech, I’ve mistreated him his whole life and now...” The wolf ruffs, it’s tail moving slowly to rest besides Tori in what Tsukasa can only assume is an attempt at comforting the man. “Don’t try to disagree, Yuzuru! I never... I’ve never given you all the credit you deserved, even though you were... my best friend— no, Yuzuru, you... You had always been family to me.”

“...I’m sorry...” Tsukasa says, and he means it. “I... I had no idea...”

“I know. And I want to be mad, I want to be so angry at you, Tsukasa. But I can’t, not right now.” Tori looks down at the creature— at _Yuzuru_’s eyes, the tears start flowing again immediately, and the wolf answers with a deep humming sound. “This was not planned at all. Yuzuru can’t control it, it happens at an specific time of each month, and since my family has always had a large cattle we had no problems to keep him well fed, but...”

“...You moved out because your family left the livestock business.” 

“Yeah. We sold the farm and started getting involved in the technology field that has been growing recently... Everything was going so well, I was truly happy. The business was flowing, I finally had the love of my life, Yuzuru was happy, too... But now... I brought him here every month because I couldn’t think of another way, but I never thought that anyone would be able to catch him... I knew normal bullets can’t hurt him, so I thought...” Tori sniffs again, trying in vain to dry his tears with his fingers. “As soon as I noticed he was taking such a long time to come home I drove here as fast as possible, and when I saw you, Tsukasa, entering the forest, somehow I had a really bad feeling, and... I’m sorry, Yuzuru, if only I had been able to find a different solution sooner... If only I had been smarter... I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, so please! Please don’t die!” 

The wolf whimpers in reply to Tori’s cries, making a big effort to move it’s head just enough in order to lick Tori’s hand, and it’s then that Tsukasa decides he’s had enough of this. He’s not going to watch a man, his beloved’s found brother, his _friend_, die in front of him and do nothing about it, damned be any promise’s he’s done. They can find a new solution that doesn’t involve eating the citizen’s farm animals later, he’s sure they can figure something out together if they try. But for that to happen, Yuzuru has to live.

And he will, Tsukasa tells himself with determination. Yuzuru is going to live even if Tsukasa has to run all the way home to grab the materials to make a proper curative and close that wound himself. He takes his jacket off again, this time unbuttoning his whole dress shirt and taking it off as well before folding it hastily and placing it above the hole in Yuzuru’s neck.

“Tori, you have to press it against the wound hard to stop the bleeding, okay?” Tsukasa says, finally getting up, and when Tori stares at him with confusion, and only a tiny bit of hope, in his eyes, Tsukasa looks back at him with the most confident look he can muster. “We are going to save Yuzuru.”

And as Tori nods and does as he’s told, with little complaints from Yuzuru, Tsukasa puts his jacket on again and grabs the lamp with a lot more conviction than before. He’s going to fix this, he might not be good at bandaging wounds and whatnot, but he sure is going to try his hardest.

This is the only way he can repent for what he’s done.

He only hopes it’s not too late now.

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta read and english is not my main language so please forgive grammar mistakes. I’m doing my best. :)
> 
> I’m posting this at 5am and I’m about to pass about ... I will try to fix plot holes in this End Note tomorrow once my brain is Actually working.


End file.
